Default Operating System

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November 17, 2006 @ 2:23 PM
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System Tune-Up Help |
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Default Operating System

Are you using just one operating system or do you use more than one? There are millions of people who use the new Windows XP on their personal computers, but still love their previous, older versions of Windows, such as Windows 98 or ME.

Technically speaking, there is nothing wrong with having more than one default operating system on your computer. In fact, it’s in some ways recommended, because in some cases of errors where one major operating system becomes unstable, accessing your computer settings through another stable, smoothly running operating system can be very helpful.

If you are experiencing the “more than one” operating system on your computer too, you must be familiar with the options list appearing on your monitor screen when your Windows is starting up. This is the list of operating systems that are available on your system and from this list, you can easily select which operating system you want to load.

For example, if you have Windows XP and 98 installed on your system, the menu that has a second counter, lists these two operating systems. You can then choose your favorite one to load at that particular time. Maybe you like to use one for some projects and the other for different things. Now, if you don’t select one, your computer will automatically select one of the operating systems to run.

While you have Windows XP and another older version of Windows installed, by default, Windows XP is selected by your computer as the preferred operating system. This is simply because it is an older version. But, what if you don’t want XP to run? Is there any way you can change the default operating system to your preferred choice so you don’t have to worry about it every time you start your computer? There actually is an easy way to do this and it doesn’t involve checking into the complexity of the boot files either. Interested? Then listen up!

Windows XP can offer help in this regard by embedding a handy window through which you can easily set your favorite operating system’s preferences.

Please begin by clicking the Start button on your desktop and go to your Control Panel.

Please make sure the classic view option is selected. Now, click the System icon in your Control Panel.

This command opens the System Properties window, which has many useful tabs and options. Go ahead and select the Advanced tab.

You can see the Startup and Recovery options at the lower part of your Advanced window. Press Settings to access the settings controlling the way your computer handles the operating systems that are present.

Now, you have accessed one of the most important and intricate parts of your Windows through which you can make some really important decisions. What we are mainly concerned for now is the top part of the Startup and Recovery options window, which is called, the System Startup options.

Now, the first thing to notice is the drop down menu that you can use to specify your default operating system. For example, you can select your default operating system to run when you start up you computer.

The other option specifies the seconds of the list of operating systems list that is shown on your screen. You can select the time here, usually a few seconds is sufficient.

The last checkbox allows you to set the time. The advanced list of options appears in case of errors, like selecting your computer to run in Safe Mode, etc. It’s recommended to not change the default time, if you can prevent it.

That’s it. Now you have accessed one of the most hidden and important parts of Windows XP, allowing some easy modifications to be done to your operating system’s settings!